Monsanto
Dow gets cold shoulder for its 2,4-D seed technology
Two major seed companies say they don't plan to use Dow's genetics that allow soybeans to tolerate the herbicides 2,4-D and glyphosate, says Bloomberg.
Dual-herbicide seeds to be Monsanto’s biggest GE launch
After a decade of development, Monsanto anticipates its genetically engineered Xtend soybean and cotton varieties will be its "largest biotech trait launch...with six times the number of varieties" that it offered in a previous set of GE strains.
Monsanto experiments again with GE wheat
More than a decade after pulling the plug on genetically engineered wheat, Monsanto is working again on biotech wheat, says the St Louis Post-Dispatch after visiting a research center run by the agribusiness giant.
USDA approves GE cotton and soy that tolerate dicamba
The government approved cultivation of genetically engineered cotton and soybean varieties from Monsanto that tolerate the weedkillers dicamba and glufosinate. So-called super weeds that are resistant to glyphosate, a widely used herbicide known as Roundup, have prompted work on biotech plants that can be matched with other herbicides.USDA said a Federal Register notice of its decision was scheduled to appear on Tuesday, the effective date for deregulation of the new Monsanto strains.
Does Big Data mean bigger farms or surviving thin margins?
With 20,000 acres, Indiana farmer Kip Tom "harvests the staples of modern agriculture: seed corn, feed corn, soybeans and data," says the New York Times.
EU parliament would allow national bans on GE crops
Members of the European parliament approved a plan that would allow members of the European Union to ban genetically engineered crops within their borders even if the EU approves them, "raising the chance their use will remain limited on the continent," said Reuters.
US approves GE potato that reduces suspect acrylamides
The Agriculture Department approved cultivation of the Innate potato developed by JR Simplot Co. and genetically engineered to produce smaller amounts of acrylamides when it is fried.
Monsanto, Dow sue to overturn Maui GE crop moratorium
Seed companies Monsanto and Dow filed suit in U.S. District Court in Honolulu to overturn a voter-approved moratorium on genetically engineered crops in Maui County, Hawaii, said the Maui Times.
Monsanto, Dow consider legal action against Maui GE ban
Agribusiness giants Monsanto and Dow AgroSciences are looking at legal options in the wake of passage of a moratorium on genetically engineered crops by voters in Maui County, Hawaii, says DTN.
Monsanto settles rogue GE wheat case for $2.375 million
Seed and chemical company Monsanto announced an agreement with soft white wheat growers to settle three class-action lawsuits that arose from the discovery that some of its experimental genetically engineered wheat was growing wild in eastern Oregon.
Berkeley soda tax and Maui GE limits win, GMO labels lose
Voters in Berkeley, Calif, approved the nation's first municipal soda tax and Maui County, Hawaii, passed an initiative that bars cultivation of genetically engineered crops during Tuesday's general elections. Statewide referendums in Oregon and California to require labels of food made with genetically modified organisms were defeated.
Oregon GMO labeling referendum sets spending record
The statewide referendum in Oregon over labeling foods containing genetically modified organisms is now the most expensive ballot question in state history, says the Salem Statesman Journal.
Newcomers challenge ag goliaths in Big Data race
Start-up companies such as FarmLogs and 640 Labs are in the hunt for customers along with agribusiness giants Deere, Pioneer and Monsanto in the new agricultural field of Big Data, says Reuters.
Brazil exporter to collect soybean royalties for Monsanto
At least one soybean exporter in Brazil has agreed to collect royalties for Monsanto, the giant seed company, from growers who plant biotech seeds that contain Monsanto's traits, said Reuters, citing industry sources.
For second time, biotech wheat escapes federal controls
For the second time in 15 months, genetically engineered wheat was found growing wild despite USDA rules to prevent the spread of experimental crops. GE wheat is not approved for cultivation or sale anywhere in the world. The new discovery of unapproved wheat was on a Montana State University research farm that conducted field trials of GE wheat from 2000-03. USDA said tests showed the wheat was a different strain than that found in April 2013 on a farm in eastern Oregon. Both were modified by Monsanto to tolerate the weedkiller glyphosate.
Monsanto settles lawsuits over GE wheat in Oregon
Monsanto agreed to settle lawsuits filed by growers of soft white wheat over the May 29, 2013, discovery of unapproved biotech wheat in an Oregon field, says broadcaster KCRU. The wheat was a strain genetically engineered by Monsanto to tolerate the weedkiller glyphosate but abandoned after field trials years ago. The growers say they lost money because Japan and South Korea temporarily curtailed purchases of U.S.-grown soft white wheat. Terms of the settlement, reached last week, were not disclosed.
Corn breeding project – varieties that won’t cross with GMOs
Plant breeder Frank Kutka is working on corn varieties that organic farmers can plant without fear of cross-pollination from GMO corn in neighboring fields, writes Ken Roseboro at Civil Eats. It is a multimillion-dollar challenge because organic crops cannot include genetically modified organisms. Corn is the most widely grown U.S. crop. Farmers can take precautions such as planting their fields earlier or later than their neighbors so the fields mature at different times but that is an imperfect tactic.
USDA assesses impact of GE diamondback moth
The Agriculture Department set a 30-day comment period on its environmental assessment of a proposed release of genetically engineered diamondback moths in upstate New York.
Bayer asks Supreme Court to overturn Roundup verdict
As it promised last month, Bayer, the world's largest seed and agricultural chemicals company, asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to overturn the $25-million award to Edwin Hardeman, a California man who blamed Roundup herbicide for giving him cancer. The appeal is a key element in Bayer's plan to resolve billions of dollars of claims against Roundup and its active ingredient, glyphosate, the most widely used weedkiller in the world.